It’s sounds like a paradox. How can you teach computer programming without a screen? Computer programming is a term synonymous with coding, after all.

Text, letters, syntax, arranged in meaningful sequences that give machines instructions. We code with our keyboards and we see code on our screens.

But there is a clear distinction between coding and computer programming, and an even greater distinction between coding and computational thinking, the logical foundations of computer programming. It is basics of computational thinking that children in Pre-K should learn first, in fact, and they can be taught these skills through hands on play, with no screen time at all.

What is creativity? What does it mean to be creative? And, assuming you can come up with your own definition, how do you think it differs from others around the world? Those are just a few of the questions addressed in a new report from agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky London and Vlad Glaveanu, an associate professor at Aalborg University’s International Center for the Cultural Psychology of Creativity in Denmark.

Interviewing 806 young professional men and women in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, China, and India, the report highlights three key topics. First, it defines a new global definition of creativity—combining originality, meaningfulness, and value—and the way that this manifests itself around the world. Second, it reveals a surprisingly lower degree of creative self-confidence in Europe and, in contrast, the creative optimism on display in markets that are currently growing economically. And third, it highlights the increasing importance of seeing creativity as a process to engage in collaboratively, rather than rely on a lone creative genius to dream up a solution.

In response to the statement, "creativity matters for professional life," agreement peaked in Turkey (88%) followed by China (80%), India (79%), Brazil (78.3%), and the U.S. (76.2%). Meanwhile, respondents from Russia (59.8%), Germany (58%), and the U.K. (57.8%) were more reserved about the role of creativity in the workplace.

The finding that CP+B London CEO Richard Pinder found most surprising was the dominant emphasis on the creative individual rather than creative collaboration found primarily in the U.S. (75.2%) and China (72%), a finding which belies China’s collectivist heritage. "I was surprised at how China is more individualistic than people in Europe would perhaps give them credit for," says Pinder. "In a sense you can rationalize it. In a country of 1.3 billion, there's always someone who can replace you."

Photo: Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker Another finding was around overall support for the idea that people are more creative when they work together. Agreement with this statement peaks in India (81%), followed by the U.S. (75.3%), Brazil (74.3%), and Turkey (71%).

"The history of studying creativity has always revolved around the idea of genius," says Glaveanu. "We had questions in this survey, asking people if they still hang on to this idea that creativity is something rare, something innate, something very few people have. And one of the first things for me that stood out was that, globally, we move from this image or old fascination of the individual genius toward an idea that everyone can create. And beyond that, we need to collaborate in order to be creative."

Industry leaders have been looking toward and anticipating the Internet of Things for quite some time. EDUCAUSE Review asked five experts in the field to share their insights on lessons learned, on current problems solved and created, and on the possible future impact of the IoT.

Learn to embrace e-portfolios to empower students as stakeholders in their own learning. Explore apps that seamlessly support the three-step e-portfolio process to ensure successful implementation and management. Discover powerful ways students can create collections of artifacts to document learning as they engage in self-reflection and goal setting.

What a big week it has been for us! Thank you to all of you who have hit our social media channels (on Twitter @NewPedagogies and Facebook ) and subscribed to NPDLConnect. It’s been great to see the various layers of implementation and YOUR practices, learning and learners (of all ages) being featured.

Maker education is currently a major trend in education. But just saying that one is doing Maker Education really doesn’t define the teaching practices that an educator is using to facilitate it. Maker education takes on many forms. This post provides an overview of how maker education is being implemented based on the teaching practices as defined by the Pedagogy, Andragogy, Heutagogy (PAH) continuum.

How might we encourage our students so that they understand their own power and ability to change their world by taking action? The answer is simple: start small, make it relevant and local, and use Design Thinking to manage the process. Design Thinking is a codification of the artistic or scientific process and starts with empathy and understanding. Students gather insights, define the problem and then brainstorm multiple solutions before moving forward to prototyping and testing their ideas. In this post, I will share ways you can use Design Thinking to foster global competence in your classroom.

“We had to move lots around to accommodate the X-Box and the TVs,” a student at Arlington Career Center enthusiastically declared on a recent study tour led by the American Youth Policy Forum.

The young man’s investment in his education was clear. The project we viewed was in the Collision Repair shop–the transformation of a BMW Sport Coupe from a skeletal rescued frame to a sleek, functional machine.

What was driving that deep learning, characterized by a strong academic core, as well as skill development such as problem solving and effective communication? Conversations with students, teachers and administrators surfaced at least three key factors: passion, collaboration and community.

We may be moving into an era when everyone can make computer programs, even though they don’t know how to code — at least not in the way we think about coding today.

I’ve started playing with an iPad app called Ready that lets kids build little games, simple apps, and creative digital projects. It uses a simple drag-and-drop interface to create objects, change their properties, and make them interact with each other or a user.

Make a ball, give it “physics” so it responds to gravity; turn it to rubber so it “bounces” against surfaces; make a paddle that moves left and right with the cursor; build a wall in chunks that disappear when they are hit with the ball. Voila: Breakout.

What WYSIWYG did for document creation, Ready can do for programming. But the effects could go much deeper than saving time.

Digital portfolios are an important part of the learning process that takes place in class. The pedagogic importance of digital portfolios is well documented in the teaching literature. Students use them for a variety of educational purposes such as to document their learning, showcase their academic accomplishments, reflect on the learning process, develop self-assessment skills. Digital portfolios are also an essential source of learning meta-data that teachers can use to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methodologies. Based on insights gleaned from students portfolios, teachers can re-purpose their courses and curriculum design in such a way that targets students emerging needs.

Despite the popularity and trend of the term “makerspace”, educators have to search hundreds of articles, websites and books to determine what this term is, how to begin, where to locate materials and determine the educational significance. Another complication is that the resurgence of this DIY movement found its grassroots in the public population and is just starting to make its way back to education. This makes navigating materials from an educational lens even more challenging. Makerspace for Education, is a collaborative digital space for educators to explore how to create and use makerspaces in their own environments and will help to transform pedagogies of individual educators through immersion in the context and the support of a community of practice.

Makerspaces are really in sync with UDL. here is a wonderful resources that guides you through the "Making of a Makerspace" in you classroom. If we had more makerspaces, we'd have more environments supportive of UDL.

"Pisa tests, an international standard for comparing education systems around the world, could include a new measurement of global skills in the next round of tests in 2018. The OECD, which runs the tests in maths, reading and science, is considering adding another test which would look at how well pupils can navigate an increasingly diverse world, with an awareness of different cultures and beliefs. The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher explains why there is such a need for new rankings to show young people's competence in a world where globalisation is a powerful economic, political and cultural force.

Education leaders around the world are increasingly talking about the need to teach 'global competences' as a way of addressing the challenges of globalisation."

They define global competence as: "the capacity to analyse global and intercultural issues critically and from multiple perspectives, to understand how differences affect perceptions, judgements, and ideas of self and others, and to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with others from different backgrounds on the basis of a shared respect for human dignity".

It’s hard to believe that just six years ago Minecraft was virtually unheard of. It was little more than a hobby project for creator and designer Markus Persson. Fast forward to 2016 and Minecraft has completely changed the way we perceive videogames.

Starting as a novelty in a handful of innovative classrooms, Minecraft is now a foundation of curriculums around the world. From math to art to geography and even quantum mechanics, Minecraft and imaginative educators are turning bland subjects into incredible immersive learning experiences.

Picking the wrong technology tool can unleash a nightmare. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. If you look over the shoulder of one of Gord Holden’s 10,000 students, it looks like they are playing a video game.
Via Yashy Tohsaku

Project-based learning is a great way to engage students, to encourage collaboration and creativity, and to promote authentic work and assessment. But it’s hard to:

-set a high bar for high quality project deliverables; - assess projects objectively especially when they’re all different; - help students with low level skills engage in challenging projects; - mitigate the free rider problem of loafing team members; - provide enough but not too much formative feedback and support; and - avoid big knowledge gaps resulting from a string of projects.

Just read the article This is Why “Personalized Learning” Will Fail by Will Richardson. This is not a discussion we are having in Norway. Differentiated learning is more likely discussed. That and the importance of keeping kids in school because that is where all the learning takes place. 10% vs 15% absence to be graded in the different subjects. I agree that kids should come to school to learn, most times that is the only option for young people today. Even if they have internet access at home, most students need the push they get from their teacher and their classmates. If you can’t meet one day, you need to let the teacher know. Another question is if we can provide opportunities for learning outside school? Can we change the pedagogy to reach more students and can we change what is going on inside the classroom? That is when the discussions turn to personal vs personalized and competency-based vs seat-time.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.